Ishpeming continues to work on its infrastructure projects, with this summer’s focus on replacing and restoring water mains beneath the city. (Journal photo by Abby LaForest)

ISHPEMING — With summer just around the corner, the city of Ishpeming is once again continuing with construction on their water and sewer infrastructure projects.

The sewer construction project is finishing up with the first portion of work: replacing and rehabilitating over 25,000 feet of sewer main beneath the city. This summer, the focus is on the water project, which includes fixing and replacing 9.5 miles of water mains.

The city’s “Dig Once” philosophy will continue to be in effect. As the streets are repaved, all necessary replacements of underground utilities will take place at the same time. This approach will significantly reduce disruptions to the streets, utilities, and city workforce while also saving taxpayer dollars. The city has found strong progress while embracing this policy during the first part of the project.

Bill Anderson, the General Foreman for the city’s Department of Public Works, explained what the construction and replacement process will look like for the water mains beneath the city’s roads.

“For the water part, they remove the blacktop, then they’ll be adding temporary water services to each one of the homes, because we’re going to be replacing the actual water main. Once they get the temporary water lines established, then they’ll be digging up the water main, placing the new water main in there, pressure testing it and performing Bac-T samples on it,” Anderson said. “If you get two negative (Bac-)T samples back, then it’s safe for human consumption. Then the contractor (Payne & Dolan) will go back and they will be attaching the water main to each house at that time, and then filling it up and blacktopping the road.”

Anderson says that the switch between the old water main, to the temporary water service, then to the new water main will barely affect residents and homeowners shouldn’t notice any interruptions.

“(It’ll) just (be) for five minutes, not for any length of time,” Anderson mentioned. “It’s just to convert them from the old one to the temporary, then five minutes to go from the temporary to the new one.”

As the project is going on all summer and happening right outside residents’ homes, keeping distance away from the construction is important to the city to ensure that both residents and workers remain safe while the work is completed.

“We just want to get out to our citizens to stay away from any kind of digging (or) any kind of operations. Those machines are big. It’s hard to see people in them,” said Ishpeming City Manager Randy Scholz. “I know it’s very interesting to see what’s going on, but for their own safety, we just want them to stay away from the work sites and big trucks and excavators and everything that’s going on.”

The full list of streets involved in the water project include the following: Deer Lake Avenue, Second Street, Elm Street, US-41, Park Street, Michigan Street, Maple Street, First Street, East Empire Street, Vine Street, North Fifth Street, Seventh Street, Bigelow Street, East New York Street, Third Street, East Johnson Street, Bluff Street, Jasper Street, Summit Street, North Davis Street, West Empire Street, West Division Street, Cedar Street, Tamarack Street, North Washington Street, Industrial Way, Willow Street, Carp Street, Houghton Street, Stone Street, D Street and E Street, Adam Street, Saginaw Street, South Pine Street, North Salisbury Street, Angeline Street, Terrace Street, South Salisbury Street, Dawson Street, Douglas Street, Lower Excelsior Street, High Excelsior Street, and Middle Street.

For additional information relating to the projects, please visit the City of Ishpeming’s website ishpemingcity.org/news/.

Abby LaForest can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 548. Her email address is alaforest@miningjournal.net.